Hagerstown Community College, Washington County Schools Partner on STEMM Ed

Hagerstown Community College (HCC) and Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) in Hagerstown, MD have partnered to launch a new STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math, and medical) Technical Middle College (STMC). The program will let qualifying high school students in the district earn college credits, associate degrees, or certifications in STEMM subjects.

The STMC program will offer courses in biotechnology, cybersecurity, chemistry, computer science, engineering, math, alternative energy, premedical, prepharmacy, and simulation and digital entertainment, according to a report in the Herald-Mail of Hagerston, MD. Junior and senior high school students in the district will have the opportunity to earn at least 30 college credits in these subjects. Some students may also complete associate's degrees or certificates by the time they graduate from high school.

Clayton Wilcox, superintendent of WCPS, told the Herald-Mail that 30 or more students, mostly juniors, could be enrolled in the program in the upcoming school year, and that number could increase to 60 or more in subsequent years. The STMC program will be located at HCC, so students in the program will complete their last two years of high school on the HCC campus. Students in grades 9 and 10 will also have the opportunity to take "significant math and science coursework" in preparation for the STMC program, according to information on HCC's Web site.

The STMC program builds on an existing relationship between HCC and WCPS. The college and district have worked together since 2003 to offer the Early Support for Students to Enter College Education (ESSENCE) program, which also lets high school students earn college credit from HCC. STMC is similar to the ESSENCE program, but STMC focuses specifically on STEMM subjects.

STMC students will receive a significant tuition discount on HCC courses, according to the Herald-Mail. In May, the National Science Foundation awarded $629,192 to help HCC increase access and diversity in STEM programs, and some of that money will help fund the STMC program.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • Abstract geometric shapes including hexagons, circles, and triangles in blue, silver, and white

    Google Launches Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet

    Google has introduced Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, a new artificial intelligence model designed to reason through problems before delivering answers, a shift that marks a major leap in AI capability, according to the company.

  • Training the Next Generation of Space Cybersecurity Experts

    CT asked Scott Shackelford, Indiana University professor of law and director of the Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, about the possible emergence of space cybersecurity as a separate field that would support changing practices and foster future space cybersecurity leaders.

  • Two stylized glowing spheres with swirling particles and binary code are connected by light beams in a futuristic, gradient space

    New Boston-Based Research Center to Advance Quantum Computing with AI

    NVIDIA is establishing a research hub dedicated to advancing quantum computing through artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing technologies.